Five ways to sell your goods online

As a craftsperson, no doubt you’re used to meeting people in person at craft fairs and selling directly but of course there are other ways to sell your products. And of course by that I mean selling online. Selling online (if you weren’t sure) refers to selling via the internet but there are numerous ways to do this and so here are our top 5.

Ecommerce website

If you are a full time crafter or just very productive then it makes sense to have your own ecommerce website. There are many different platforms for building ecommerce stores on such as Sellerdeck, Magento and Opencart to name but a few. Make a point of speaking to a specialist ecommerce developer. You’ll find it is not as expensive as you might have thought and they will guide you through the pitfalls.

Hosted (cloud) ecommerce

These include companies such as Volusion, Actinic Online and Big Commerce. With these, you pay a monthly fee based on the number of products you have in your store. For crafters this could be a good low cost option but over time can work out more expensive.

Ebay

Ebay is the world’s largest auction and sales site. You can sell literally anything through it (as long as it is legal) but be aware you will have to pay fees on top so take that in to consideration.

Amazon

Yes, you can sell through Amazon! Amazon (much like eBay) opens you up to the widest audience and they will take care of the payment provision. But beware: they will take quite a sizeable cut for the privilege. As much as 15% (compared to 1.4% for a card sale using Stripe on your own site with no additional fees).

Etsy

Etsy is a ‘department store’ for want of a better description for individuals who want to sell individuals pieces so perfect for crafters. They charge 3.5% commission so definitely worth considering if you’re dipping your toe in ecommerce waters.

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